Pornofilmy (Band)

Pornofilmy is a Russian punk band from the city of Dubna and one of the most popular existing rock bands in Russia. It was founded in 2008. The members of the band include lead vocalist and poet Vladimir Kotlyarov, solo guitarist Vyacheslav Seleznev, rhythm guitarist and band manager Alexander Rusakov, drummer Ruslan Saberov and bassist Alexander Agafonov. The band stands out from other Russian punk-rock bands for its highly politicized lyrics and propaganda of healthy lifestyle. All members of the band are vegetarians and do not drink alcohol, use drugs or smoke. The band was popular in Dubna in the early years of its existence, but after the release of its fourth album "In the Range Between Despair and Hope" and the cancellation of a number of concerts by local authorities, it gained national fame and became one of the leading performers of rock music in Russia. Currently, Pornofilmy has 13 releases, including 8 studio albums and 5 mini-albums. The last studio album, "It Shall Pass" was released in January 2020.

Name

According to band leader Vladimir Kotlyarov, the name of the band is a metaphor for the surrounding reality. The name of the band was invented in our garage - I wanted the word to catch, excite, and outrage. I heard it on some crime chronicle on the TV: they said that an underground workshop for the production of porn movies was liquidated. It seemed to me that this word was stupid, but cool for the name of the band. Over time, for many people this word became a proper name and lost its original meaning. Although there are still restrictions - for example, we will not be invited to the TV. But we are not torn: we still remain underground.

History

Origins

The band was founded in 2008, but the musicians began to actively develop the band only in 2012, after all the participants abandoned alcohol, smoking and other bad habits, which became the main theme of most of the band's lyrics at that time. The members of the band recorded all their music in their garage and initially mixed music themselves, but then a friend of the band got engaged in mastering for payment. The band started gradually getting more and more attention in Russia, but it wasn't always positive. The first song "Come!" from the album “Russian Dream. Part I”of 2015 is dedicated to a fan of the band who committed suicide by throwing himself from the roof of his house due to a lack of understanding and support in his environment. His mother later wrote a letter to the band asking them to write a song telling their young fans to never abandon hope for life, so that no one repeats her son's fate.

Growth of popularity

The band's popularity grew immensely after the realize of two albums - "In the Range Between Despair and Hope" in 2018 and "It shall pass" in 2020. They gave a performance in 2020 in Moscow's "adrenalin" stadium and St. Petersburg's Ice palace stadium, as well as on Russia's national TV on the Evening Urgant talk show.

Charity

The band often performs at charity concerts. In mid-2017, the band launched a crowdfunding project on the Planeta.ru website, where they announced the recording of a new album, adding that all the money raised would go not to the recording, but to the charitable foundation "Fund Against Leukemia". Out of the requested 550,000 rubles. the band raised 909,101 rubles. For the same foundation the band held an online acoustic concert where they collected additional money. In addition, they personally came to the foundation and distributed clothes, food and other goods for those in need. In May 2018, the band visited children's oncological center, where they held a music master class, and also taught the children about the basics of building melodies. On April 1, 2020, the vocalist of the band Vladimir Kotlyarov played a third charity acoustic online concert in support of the Fund for the Fight Against Leukemia, which again raised over 950,000 rubles. Additionally, on the YouTube channel, regular users donated additional 855,000 rubles. The whole sum was given to the fund the next morning.

Discography

Studio albums

• Glue! (2010)
• Boring Life (2012)
• Karma of the workers
• Poor country (2013)
• Youth and Punk Rock (2014)
• Russian Dream. Part I (2015)
• Russian Dream. Part II (2016)
• In the Range Between Despair and Hope (2017)
• It Shall Pass (2020)

Mini albums

• You are in my sect (2011)
• Art (2012)
• How many bombs will go off? (2012)
• On all screens of the country (2012)
• White Flakes (2014)
• Resistance (2015)
• Like the last time (2016)

Singles

• "Our Names" (feat Lumen) (2015)
• "I'm so afraid" (2018)
• "Rituals" (2019)